Jacoby Shaddix

Well, while we were mixing these tracks, DreamWorks Records hollered at our management.

They're like, we want to come down and hear some of the songs.

So they came down to the studio, heard the songs and they were like,

all right, they started to pursue us, court us, take us out to dinner.

We're like, oh, we'll take all the free dinners we can.

We're hungry.

So we did that.

And we eventually got a deal with DreamWorks.

And that was just like, oh my God, I felt like I had made it to the top.

But all the while I realized I was just at the bottom of another mountain.

But grateful.

And we went and recorded all these songs.

And the A&R told the producer, Jay Baumgartner, he's like, don't mess with this band.

Like, just let's get a great quality recording of these band songs.

You know, let's not try to like rewrite and rearrange.

And like, there's something magic in what these dudes are doing.

And so we went in and recorded it.

And this is like...

at the point where like drinking really is starting to take off for me.

Um, I'm a couple years into my marriage.